Here's a sample: In 45 B.C., the Romans began celebrating New Years on January first. Before that, they celebrated New Years on March 21, which their mythology said was the date of the creation of the world. The dates of holidays are seldom moved. If you could move the date of a holiday, which one would you move? To what date would you move it? Why would you move it?

One of the best viral YouTube sensations I’ve caught in the past few years, “The Difference Between Cats and Dogs” features a Golden Retriever and its puppy. While this video has nothing to with education, it has everything to do the student-centered learning I saw taking place in a high school science class...

How do you upload a lesson to this site? I filled out all the required info, but could not figure out how to actually upload the lesson. In addition, I would like to add attachments to my lesson. Is that possible?

Hi Doug - thanks for the question, and the heads up. The HTML submit button was being stripped from the form. It should be fixed now.

Our current lesson submit form does not include file attachments (just an image to accompany the lesson). We are in the late stages of a substantial redux for the Lesson Bank, and the new version should have a lot of improvements, including PDF and DOC attachments.

For the time being, if you can upload the document to Google rive, make it public, then you should be able to link directly to it from the lesson form.

Her students came to her hating writing, but these warm-ups and mini-lessons have turned teacher Julie Bey's students on to the process of writing. Take a look, and be sure to share the link with colleagues!

Teachers know best what works for their stud...See MoreThe U.S. Census Bureau invites you to join the vanguard of a new effort to boost students' data literacy-a crucial capability for success in every academic field and lifelong careers. We'd like you to test materials that aim to strengthen your lesson plans and improve your students' achievement.

Teachers know best what works for their students. That's why we need your feedback to launch Statistics in Schools (SIS), an innovative program to improve students' data literacy and familiarize them with valuable Census resources.

This summer, SIS will provide exceptional K-12 math and social studies teachers like you with activities and materials to use in their classrooms in the fall. We're offering videos, interactive maps, games, supplemental activities, and discussion prompts based on real-life data and examples.

Through this SIS Early Adopter program, you will be among the first teachers to try SIS materials in your classroom, and your feedback will help shape the program before it is rolled out in schools nationwide.

Why should you participate? As an early adopter you will: - Have exclusive access to new materials aligned with Common Core State Standards. - Receive an informational toolkit and biweekly emails with updates on the program and tips on how to incorporate SIS resources into your classroom. - Stand at the forefront of a movement to improve data literacy among students and influence a program for teachers and students nationwide. - Be a voice for your fellow teachers on the types of resources you need to empower your students to succeed.

To be eligible to serve as an early adopter, we ask that you: - Teach math or social studies (including related electives) to K-12 students. - Plan to teach from the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year until at least Nov. 30, 2014. - Be able to incorporate SIS materials into your classroom as much as possible from August through November. - Participate in an early adopter kickoff webinar in August. - Provide us with feedback about your experience using the SIS materials and website.

We're still adding the finishing touches to the SIS website, and we will share it with you as soon as it's complete.

To confirm your participation as an early adopter or to learn more, contact Melissa Schaffer at [email removed]:

Full name School name and full mailing address Type of school (e.g., public, private, charter, tribal, parochial, IB, Title I, alternative, home school) Grade(s) and specific subject(s) you teach Email address and phone number to reach you this summer and during the school year

If you know other teachers who might be interested in becoming early adopters, please forward this information to them.

First, great idea for a board, Bob! When I saw it, I thought: another > board for me! I love planning, really love it; in fact, planning is > second only to teaching for me. > > I loved the thoughtful comments on this thread. But then, > unfortunately, it seems someone appears from the main board with "THE > ANSWER." I so resent posts like this: "Setting high expectations even > when you are not there will elicit responsibility and respect." IMO, no > one should be allowed to make remarks like this to others. Good > teaching is much too dependent on variables to come to a blanket > conclusion like this. I strongly believe it is our mandate to support > and help each other, not make people who are reflecting on weaknesses > feel that they're not doing enough. Boy, this really ticks me off. > > For those of us who always struggle with some aspect of our teaching, > hooray! We are learning. > > Now, back to the question, I, too, write entirely different plans for a > sub than I do for myself. For myself I'm concerned about following all > the steps I've built in the lesson and having the materials I need. For > a sub, I must consider that they won't be able to do everything I do. > That's a fact. So I write quite different plans, very detailed and > often review, with lots to do. > > Our admin all all sub 3 days a year. The superintendent asked to sub in > my room. You'd better believe those were some of the most detailed > plans I've ever written, LOL. And I know from talking to her that I > could have been even more clear in a few places. > > I love the topic of plans and I respect subs for the difficult job they > do. I think we need to speak respectfully to each other. > > Judy

...See MoreLOL, you're right, the boxes are small! I write the lesson topic and essentials in my plan book, but I also write longer plans for many lessons. I keep these in binder sleeves in a binder for the appropriate unit (eg, I have built units for all of my writing units and science units. I need more info to teach well than one small box). Judy

On 6/29/11, parents talk wrote: > On 6/29/11, judy5ca wrote: >> Thanks, Judy! Now what exactly do you put in your plans to make it so > detailed? Lesson plan books have such small boxes to get all your > information in. > > > First, great idea for a board, Bob! When I saw it, I thought: another >> board for me! I love planning, really love it; in fact, planning is >> second only to teaching for me. >> >> I loved the thoughtful comments on this thread. But then, >> unfortunately, it seems someone appears from the main board with "THE >> ANSWER." I so resent posts like this: "Setting high expectations even >> when you are not there will elicit responsibility and respect." IMO, no >> one should be allowed to make remarks like this to others. Good >> teaching is much too dependent on variables to come to a blanket >> conclusion like this. I strongly believe it is our mandate to support >> and help each other, not make people who are reflecting on weaknesses >> feel that they're not doing enough. Boy, this really ticks me off. >> >> For those of us who always struggle with some aspect of our teaching, >> hooray! We are learning. >> >> Now, back to the question, I, too, write entirely different plans for a >> sub than I do for myself. For myself I'm concerned about following all >> the steps I've built in the lesson and having the materials I need. For >> a sub, I must consider that they won't be able to do everything I do. >> That's a fact. So I write quite different plans, very detailed and >> often review, with lots to do. >> >> Our admin all all sub 3 days a year. The superintendent asked to sub in >> my room. You'd better believe those were some of the most detailed >> plans I've ever written, LOL. And I know from talking to her that I >> could have been even more clear in a few places. >> >> I love the topic of plans and I respect subs for the difficult job they >> do. I think we need to speak respectfully to each other. >> >> Judy

I'm wondering how middle school teachers give a grade (report card) for reading, spelling, vocabulary, writing, and English grammar. Do you have just one grade for Language Arts? Or do you give a separate grade for reading, spelling, etc.?

I need to be aware of what is being taught in L5 reading for all three grade levels so I can supplement with writing and grammar, spelling and communication skills. That gets a little complicated since all three LA curriculums deal with different levels, plus I need to fill in the blanks of all of the lessons that these ESL students didn't learn in 5th grade since they were in pull-out programs back then and that usually happened during LA time.

MelissaOne for reading and one for English On 6/29/11, Patti O'Connell wrote: > I'm wondering how middle school teachers give a grade > (report card) for reading, spelling, vocabulary, writing, > and English grammar. Do you have just one grade for > Language Arts? Or do you give a separate grade for reading, > spelling, etc.?